Decorative Collar Bar Apparatus for Shirt Collar

ABSTRACT

A decorative collar bar apparatus for shirt collar includes an ornamental head, an attachment bar, a collar stiffener, a locking encasement. The ornamental head is terminally connected to the attachment bar, and the attachment bar engages with the locking encasement through the collar stiffener. The ornamental head provides an improved esthetic appearance and is visible from outside as the ornamental head covers a collar hole of the shirt collar. The attachment bar, the collar stiffener, and the locking encasement are hidden within the shirt collar, completing an assembly. The collar stiffener is positioned in between the shirt collar and engages in between the attachment bar and the locking encasement in order to stabilize the shirt collar.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 62/315,309 filed on Mar. 30, 2016.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for a collar barand cufflinks. More specifically, the present invention is an apparatusthat is inserted through the collar of a shirt to keep the collar inplace or inserted through the sleeve cuffs of the shirt to keep thesleeve cuffs in place.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many individuals wear shirts with collars. These kinds of shirts areparticularly appropriate for formal situations, in which an individual'sappearance may be very important to make a positive impression onothers. Unfortunately, there are no currently existing fashionableelements to be applied to the shirt collar to enhance the aestheticappearance of the collar. In addition, individuals often have troublekeeping the collar in its proper place on the shirt, resulting in shirtcollars that are rumpled, creased, flimsy, or “popped.”

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a collarbar that keeps the shirt collar in place and provides the desired foldand positioning of the collar. It is a further object of the presentinvention to provide a collar bar that also adds an ornamental stud tothe collar, increasing the aesthetic appeal of the shirt. It is a stillfurther object of the present invention to provide a collar bar that canbe locked in place easily and then easily removed from the collar.Functionality of the desired fold of the collar and the ornamental studto the collar can be implemented independent from each other jointlyupon the user's preference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a back view of the present invention, showing the plane uponwhich a cross sectional view is taken shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the present invention taken along lineA-A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a back exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front-side illustration of the present invention in use onthe shirt collar.

FIG. 9 is a front illustration of the present invention in use on theshirt collar.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the locking encasement and a pluralityof loops of the present invention being attached to the shirt collar.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the present invention being attached tothe shirt collar, wherein the broken lines illustrate hidden components.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention is a decorative collar bar apparatus for a shirtcollar 25, which enables a user to stabilize a collar point of the shirtcollar 25 while providing an improved esthetic appearance for the shirtcollar 25. The present invention comprises an ornamental head 1, anattachment bar 2, a collar stiffener 5, a locking encasement 10, and aplurality of loops 21 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 10. In reference tothe general configuration of the present invention, the ornamental head1 is terminally connected to the attachment bar 2, wherein a perimeterof the ornamental head 1 is bigger than a perimeter of the attachmentbar 2. The attachment bar 2 traverses into the locking encasement 10through the collar stiffener 5 and engaged to the locking encasement 10,opposite from the ornamental head 1. The plurality of loops 21 isconnected to the inside of the shirt collar 25 and holds the assembly ofthe ornamental head 1, the attachment bar 2, the collar stiffener 5, andthe locking encasement 10 within the shirt collar 25.

The ornamental provides the improved esthetic appearance for the shirtcollar 25. In reference to FIG. 1-2, the shapes of the ornamental head 1include, but are not limited, many different geometric shapes, manydifferent organic shapes, or many different symbolic shapes, and anyother desired personalized shaped. The ornamental head 1 can be madefrom, but not limited to, plastic, glass, metal or any other lightweightand high strength materials. Since the ornamental head 1 is the onlycomponent that is visible to others, and the rest of the components ofthe present invention are hidden away within the shirt collar 25, theornamental head 1 provides the decorative aspect within the presentinvention.

In reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the attachment bar 2comprises a central shaft 3 and a tail portion 4. More specifically, theornamental head 1 is terminally connected to the central shaft 3 as thetail portion 4 is terminally and concentrically connected to the centralshaft 3, opposite of the ornamental head 1. As a result, the centralshaft 3 is positioned in between the ornamental head 1 and the tailportion 4. In order words, the ornamental head 1 is connected with thecentral shaft 3 at a front end of the central shaft 3. The tail portion4 is concentrically connected with the central shaft 3 at a back end ofthe central shaft 3, where the tail portion 4 is positioned oppositefrom the ornamental head 1 along the central shaft 3. The tail portion 4comprises a spherical shaped extremity, where the spherical shapedextremity is oppositely positioned to the ornamental head 1. As aresult, the spherical shaped extremity delineates an end of theattachment bar 2. The central shaft 3 preferably comprises a cylindricalshape, although any other desired geometric shapes can be used. However,a diameter of the central shaft 3 is smaller than a diameter of the tailportion 4 so that the attachment bar 2 is able to engage with thelocking encasement 10. The attachment bar 2 can be made from, but arenot limited to, plastic, metal, or any other lightweight and highstrength materials. The attachment bar 2 functions as the bridge betweenthe ornamental head 1 and the locking encasement 10 while keeping theshirt collar 25 in their proper place on the shirt. The attachment bar 2is also able to prevent the shirt collar 25 from becoming rumple,crease, flimsy, and pooped.

The locking encasement 10 that secures the attachment bar 2 and thecollar stiffener 5 comprises a first sleeve 11, a second sleeve 14, asupport 17, at least one encasement attachment 18, a cap 19, and anelastic locking clip 20. In reference to FIG. 5, the first sleeve 11 islaterally connected to the support 17, and the second sleeve 14 islaterally connected to the support 17 as the first sleeve 11 and thesecond sleeve 14 provide a linear path for the attachment bar 2 totraverse into the locking encasement 10. As a result, the first sleeve11 and the second sleeve 14 are concentrically positioned of each otherand are terminally positioned of each other along the support 17.

The encasement attachment 18 can be, but not limited to, hooks and loopsattachments, adhesive strip attachments, snap button attachments, andattachment holes. The encasement attachment 18 of the preferredembodiment is an elongated hole that connects the locking encasement 10to the shirt collar 25. More specifically, the encasement attachment 18of the preferred embodiment traverses through the support 17 and allowsthe present invention to be attached onto the inside of the shirt collar25 by a fabric fastener or stitching. In other words, the fabricfastener or stitching is traversed through the encasement attachment 18and connected to a bottom collar section 27 of the shirt collar 25 sothat the fabric fastener or stitching is able to secure the lockingencasement 10 to the shirt collar 25. The present invention preferablyutilizes a single encasement attachment 18 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.5; however, the present invention is not limited the single encasementattachment 18 and can comprise a plurality of encasement attachments 18.In reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, the elastic locking clip 20 isintegrated into the cap 19. The cap 19 is adjacently connected to thesecond sleeve 14 and the support 17, opposite of the first sleeve 11,wherein the elastic locking clip 20 is concentrically positioned to thesecond sleeve 14. The elastic locking clip 20 is preferably made ofspring steel in order to receive and release the tail portion 4. Forexample, when the attachment bar 2 is inserted into the lockingencasement 10, the spherical shaped extremity engages with the elasticlocking clip 20 thus securing the attachment bar 2 and the ornamentalhead 1 assembly to the locking encasement 10. When the attachment bar 2is pulled away from the locking encasement 10, the spherical shapedextremity disengages from the elastic locking clip 20 thus separatingthe attachment bar 2 and the ornamental head 1 assembly from the lockingencasement 10.

In reference to FIG. 6-7, a front base surface 12 of the first sleeve 11and a rear base surface 13 of the second sleeve 14 are parallel to eachother. Resultantly, the front base surface 12 of the first sleeve 11 isable to position flat against the ornamental head 1 when necessary, andthe rear base surface 13 of the second sleeve 14 is able to positionflat against the cap 19. A rear base surface 13 of the first sleeve 11and a front base surface 12 of the second sleeve 14 are collectivelytapered towards the support 17, forming an acute angle between therespective two surfaces. As a result, the first sleeve 11 and the secondsleeve 14 are able to firmly secure the collar stiffener 5 within thepresent invention.

In reference to FIG. 6-7, the collar stiffener 5 comprises a sleeve body6 and a stiffener body 9. The stiffener body 9 is design to place abouta collar point of the shirt collar 25 and is laterally connected to thesleeve body 6 that secures the collar stiffener 5 to the lockingencasement 10. Additionally, a first base surface 7 and a second basesurface 8 of the sleeve body 6 are tapered away from the stiffener body9. When the sleeve body 6 is concentrically positioned in between thefirst sleeve 11 and the second sleeve 14, the first base surface 7 ofthe sleeve body 6 is adjacently positioned with the rear base surface 13of the first sleeve 11, and the second base surface 8 of the sleeve body6 is adjacently positioned with the front base surface 12 of the secondsleeve 14.

In reference to FIG. 8-9, in order for the present invention to displaywith the shirt collar 25, the attachment bar 2 is inserted through acollar hole 26 that is positioned on an upper collar section 28 of theshirt collar 25. When the attachment bar 2 inserted through the collarhole 26, the ornamental head 1 is positioned outside the collar hole 26,and the central shaft 3 is inserted through the plurality of loops 21that comprises a top collar loop 22, a first bottom collar loop 23, anda second bottom collar loop 24. In reference to FIG. 10-11, the topcollar loop 22 is positioned in between the first bottom collar loop 23and the second bottom collar loop 24, where the top collar loop 22 isconnected with the upper collar section 28. The first bottom collar loop23 and the second bottom collar loop 24 are connected to the bottomcollar section 27 by stitching or any other desired method ofconnections, as the upper collar section 28 and the bottom collarsection 27 are connected to each other in order to complete the shirtcollar 25. Since the locking encasement 10 is secured to the shirtcollar 25, the locking encasement 10 is hidden within a bottom collarsection 27 and an upper collar section 28 of the shirt collar 25. Whenthe tail portion 4 inserted through a collar hole 26 of the shirt collar25, the ornamental head 1 is adjacently and externally positioned withthe collar hole 26. Then, the central shaft 3 traverses through the topcollar loop 22, the first bottom collar loop 23, the second bottomcollar loop 24, the first sleeve 11, a sleeve body 6 of the collarstiffener 5, and the second sleeve 14 as the tail portion 4 traversesinto the cap 19 and the elastic locking clip 20. The tail portion 4 isthen engaged with the elastic locking clip 20, wherein the elasticlocking clip 20 secures the attachment bar 2 within the lockingencasement 10 as the elastic locking clip 20 captures the insertion ofthe tail portion 4. The plurality of loops 21 provides a smooth andclean surface for the upper collar section 28, eliminating rumpled,creased, flimsy, and popped properties from the shirt collar 25. Theplurality of loops 21 also eliminates space between the shirt and theshirt collar 25 and presents a crisp appearance. Additionally, thestiffener body 9 positioned in between the bottom collar section 27 andthe upper collar section 28 of the shirt collar 25, wherein thestiffener body 9 stabilize the shirt collar 25. Since the perimeter ofthe ornamental head 1 is bigger than the perimeter of the attachment bar2 and the collar hole 26, the ornamental head 1 does not go through thecollar hole 26, but covers the collar hole 26 while providing thedecorative appearance.

The present invention optionally utilizes a plurality of ornamental headplacement templets and a plurality of encasement placement templets toaccommodate different collar shapes and collar designs. Resultantly,each of the plurality of ornamental head placement templets allows themanufactures to properly manufacture the collar hole 26 of the shirtcollar 25 and position the top collar loop 22. Similarly, each of theplurality of encasement placement templets allows the manufactures toproperly place the first bottom collar loop 23 and the second bottomcollar loop 24 within the shirt collar 25. Then, the plurality ofornamental head placement templets and the plurality of encasementplacement templets allow the manufactures to accomplish proper alignmentof the present invention with respect to different shirt collars 22.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the ornamentalhead 1 is removably mounted to the attachment bar 2 so that the user isable to switch between multiple ornamental heads 1 that comprisesdifferent design elements. As a result, the alternative embodiment canindividually provide the functionality of the ornamental head 1 and thecollar stiffener 5 or collectively provide the functionality of both theornamental head 1 and the collar stiffener 5.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A decorative collar bar apparatus for shirtcollar comprises: an ornamental head; an attachment bar; a collarstiffener; a locking encasement; a plurality of loops; the lockingencasement comprises a first sleeve, a second sleeve, a support, atleast one encasement attachment, a cap, and an elastic locking clip; theplurality of loops comprises a top collar loop, a first bottom collarloop, and a second bottom collar loop, wherein the plurality of loops isconnected to a shirt collar; the ornamental head being terminallyconnected to the attachment bar, wherein a perimeter of the ornamentalhead is bigger than a perimeter of the attachment bar; the attachmentbar traversing into the locking encasement through the collar stiffener;and the attachment bar being engaged to the locking encasement oppositefrom the ornamental head.
 2. The decorative collar bar apparatus forshirt collar as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the attachment barcomprises a central shaft and a tail portion; the ornamental head beingterminally connected to the central shaft; the tail portion beingterminally and concentrically connected to the central shaft; and thecentral shaft being positioned in between the ornamental head and thetail portion.
 3. The decorative collar bar apparatus for shirt collar asclaimed in claim 1 comprises: the collar stiffener comprises a sleevebody and a stiffener body; and the stiffener body being laterallyconnected to the sleeve body.
 4. The decorative attaching apparatus forthe shirt collar and the sleeve cuffs as claimed in claim 3, wherein afirst base surface and a second base surface of the sleeve body aretapered away from the stiffener body.
 5. The decorative collar barapparatus for shirt collar as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the firstsleeve being laterally connected to the support; the second sleeve beinglaterally connected to the support; the first sleeve and the secondsleeve being concentrically positioned of each other; the first sleeveand the second sleeve being terminally positioned of each other alongthe support; the encasement attachment traversing through the support;the elastic locking clip being integrated into the cap; the cap beingadjacently connected to the second sleeve and the support, opposite ofthe first sleeve; and the elastic locking clip being concentricallypositioned to the second sleeve.
 6. The decorative collar bar apparatusfor shirt collar as claimed in claim 5, wherein a front base surface ofthe first sleeve and a rear base surface of the second sleeve areparallel to each other.
 7. The decorative collar bar apparatus for shirtcollar as claimed in claim 5, wherein a rear base surface of the firstsleeve and a front base surface of the second sleeve are collectivelytapered towards the support.
 8. The decorative collar bar apparatus forshirt collar as claimed in claim 1, wherein a sleeve body of the collarstiffener being concentrically positioned in between the first sleeveand the second sleeve.
 9. The decorative collar bar apparatus for shirtcollar as claimed in claim 8 comprises: a first base surface of thesleeve body being adjacently positioned with a rear base surface of thefirst sleeve; and a second base surface of the sleeve body beingadjacently positioned with a front base surface of the second sleeve.10. The decorative collar bar apparatus for shirt collar as claimed inclaim 1 comprises: the top collar loop being connected to an uppercollar section of the shirt collar; the first bottom collar loop beingconnected to a bottom collar section of the shirt collar, wherein theupper collar section and the bottom collar section are connected to eachother; the second bottom collar loop being connected to the bottomcollar section; and the top collar loop being positioned in between thefirst bottom collar loop and the second bottom collar loop.
 11. Thedecorative collar bar apparatus for shirt collar as claimed in claim 1comprises: the ornamental head being adjacently positioned with a collarhole of the shirt collar; a central shaft of the attachment bartraversing through the first bottom collar loop, the top collar loop,and the second bottom collar loop, the first sleeve, a sleeve body ofthe collar stiffener, and the second sleeve; a tail portion of theattachment bar traversing into the cap and the elastic locking clip; thetail portion being engaged with the elastic locking clip, wherein theelastic locking clip secures the attachment bar within the lockingencasement as the elastic locking clip captures the insertion of thetail portion; and a stiffener body of the collar stiffener beingpositioned in between a bottom collar section and an upper collarsection of the shirt collar, wherein the stiffener body stabilizes theshirt collar.